My System Pics 2010

[Naxos]

I thought that it was about time I posted some piccies of my system, so here goes...

The Neats have really come on song now, and the system sounds so good over a whole range of music that I don't really feel there's much else I'd change - maybe a matching Neat centre speaker at some stage, and a Hi-Cap 2 long term, but otherwise I'm really pleased. The Neats have that great ability to 'disappear', leaving you with a beautifully detailed and natural soundstage that just lets you enjoy the music and become totally involved with it.

Hope you like it!

 

[john1000000boy]

Nice tidy setup. I used to have my amp/source equipment in a hifi rack away from the tv too. Makes it very tidy moving "all the black boxes"(wife used to say) away from the middle of the room. The curtains look like they are a good weight for blocking out the light too, essential for daytime viewing!!

Very nice!!

 

[El Hefe]

Very Neat indeed 🙂

Any particular reason why the TV is not centred in between the speakers?

 

[Naxos]

Thanks John. I'd rather have all the boxes on one stand, but as that's a conservatory behind the window I have to leave plenty of access for the sliding door, which means that long AV units are not an option. It does mean quite a lot of wiring between the two units (my Yamaha surround amp has no HDMI so I have six analogue wires linked to the Blu ray). In a normal lounge situation, though, you can't expect not to have to compromise on something, and I'm so thankful my long-suffering wife is usually OK with my chosen hobby, although at times of marital discord the old refrain "this room revolves around your **** hi fi" can still be heard on occasion. Bless her, though, she did choose to spend 2 hours with me when I demoed the Neats instead of shopping in Guildford - even though she actually preferred the Spendor A5's.

 

[Naxos]

El Hefe:Very Neat indeed 🙂 Any particular reason why the TV is not centred in between the speakers?

Hah - see what you did there! As for the centreing, it's that sliding door I mentioned above. I know, it offends every asthetic bone in my body too, but better that than someone knocking the TV off.

 

[El Hefe]

Its still a good set up though 🙂. Keep the Mrs happy and you will get your Neat centre speaker soones thatn you think 🙂

 

[gbhsi1]

Naxos:
I thought that it was about time I posted some piccies of my system, so here goes...

The Neats have really come on song now, and the system sounds so good over a whole range of music that I don't really feel there's much else I'd change - maybe a matching Neat centre speaker at some stage, and a Hi-Cap 2 long term, but otherwise I'm really pleased. The Neats have that great ability to 'disappear', leaving you with a beautifully detailed and natural soundstage that just lets you enjoy the music and become totally involved with it.

Hope you like it!

Love the neats!

 

[john1000000boy]

I had to do exactly the same heaps of cable was being used and i had a door to go over and a wall to go down as my tv was mounted on the wall!! Think i bought a 7 metre QED Hdmi p to go from Denon dvd to plasma- that made the eyes really water!! If i hadnt moved sitting room i was going to have to buy a new amp- so i did!! Then decided to get everything in the 1 place on a rack below the tv. I think there are about 2 cables going up to the tv including the very long expensive hdmi(which is piled inside the cavity!!) Would like to put a component and optical up there too just for watching sky using the tv speakers!!

I thought that is why the tv and speakers were offset, Better be careful a stray elbow doesnt catch the tv on the way outside!!

 

[Anonymous]

Lovely looking set up, especially the Neats. The top shelf of the rack is a bit of fun, which I trust your wife an appreciates. I'm impressed that you got her along to a demo, something i've not yet managed.

How does the Cyrus/Naim combination get along?

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice Naxos, like the floorstanding Neats, very compact and aesthetically pleasing. Like the rack and seperate stereo setup in the corner too, would love to go down that route as well, but there always seems to be other priorities ahead of what is just a hobby after-all, especially when what I have already does the job !!!

Congrats anyway and thanks for sharing...

 

[Naxos]

Andy G XXX:

Lovely looking set up, especially the Neats. The top shelf of the rack is a bit of fun, which I trust your wife an appreciates. I'm impressed that you got her along to a demo, something i've not yet managed.

How does the Cyrus/Naim combination get along?

Hi Andy,

Thanks! I have to confess that the top shelf was rendered free when I sold my Rega P3/24 a couple of months ago, so it makes a good place to put the lava lamp - there goes any street-cred I may have had.

The Naim/Cyrus combination works a treat - when I bought the SN, I was imagining the Cyrus pre-power would be a shoe in, but then we tried the Naim 202/250, and then the dealer just dropped the SN in casually, and I was smitten (and rather poorer). Apparently Neat use a Supernait as a reference in their studio, so that particular pairing is pretty much ideal. The final touch was the PSX-R, which has just tightened up the bass a bit and added a fair degree of definition to what was already a fine sound.

 

[AL13N]

Very nice and tidy setup. Due to the colour of the walls and floor the speakers blend in nicely too.

One question though. I've read that speaker cables should always be the same length to each speaker. I've also read that rolling up speaker cable is not recommended. So what configuration do you use to connect the amp to the speakers?

Just curious.

 

[Naxos]

AL13N:Very nice and tidy setup. Due to the colour of the walls and floor the speakers blend in nicely too.

One question though. I've read that speaker cables should always be the same length to each speaker. I've also read that rolling up speaker cable is not recommended. So what configuration do you use to connect the amp to the speakers?

Just curious.

Thanks! Yes, the oak veneer (plus the compact dimensions) of the Neats means they blend in rather better than my old Keilidhs with our decor - a major WAF! They're also beautifully finished, with symetrical grain on all surfaces.

Ah yes, the cables...I use Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire - they ARE equal lengths, but as you surmise that means the left hand one inevitably has to be coiled up, which is not ideal, especially as I'm considering moving to Naim NACA5 at some point which isn't very bendable. I try to keep all the wires as organised as possible but the speaker cable is a problem, which is why a centrally-placed gear arrangement would be preferable.

As far as the surround speakers are concerned, I admitted defeat and cut the cables to length to avoid a load of extra one side - can't say I can hear any difference.

 

[jaxwired]

Gorgeous speakers. I love the look of all neat products. Very nice system.

Regarding the speaker wire. In theory, different lengths should really be fine considering that electricity moves down a wire at more than half the speed of light. The difference in signal timing on less than 10 feet would be measured in nano seconds or less. Surely we can't hear that!

Of course speaker wire is sold in equal lengths when preterminated. I've also heard coiling wire is bad because it creates inductance. However, I coil my excess wire as well. I don't think it matters unless you have a pretty long run and a pretty big coil, but just guessing...

 

[Naxos]

jaxwired:

Gorgeous speakers. I love the look of all neat products. Very nice system.

Regarding the speaker wire. In theory, different lengths should really be fine considering that electricity moves down a wire at more than half the speed of light. The difference in signal timing on less than 10 feet would be measured in nano seconds or less. Surely we can't hear that!

Of course speaker wire is sold in equal lengths when preterminated. I've also heard coiling wire is bad because it creates inductance. However, I coil my excess wire as well. I don't think it matters unless you have a pretty long run and a pretty big coil, but just guessing...

Thanks Jaxwired! Yes, I've been tempted in the past to trim the wire down for the left speaker, but something inside screams at me not to do it, plus there's the more practical thought that one day I might need the extra length anyway if the gear gets moved (both lengths are 3 metres). I'm relieved that you also coil your wire - I certainly don't seem to be plagued with any detectable mains interference or such.

Loving your system too, by the way!